The Last Chapter
by Kaiser Ryouga II
Summary: The product of a writer's boredom, and kinda pointless, but... eh.. Ky and Sol converse before their match at the tournament.


Well, well, well… 

**Look who's ripped his way through the worthless? Hmph. But that's standard. I didn't expect much and I'm sure as hell that I won't get any more of it. That's all this tournament amounts to. A bunch of young no-names airing their grievances by beating the crap out of each other.  **

**But that isn't my problem. **

**Instead of beating the shit out of total strangers and earning money from it... I'm here. To deal with the 'mistakes' of the past. **

**Mistakes brought along by that man... Frederick. While he burns in hell... I have to clear up the mess he left behind. Namely Type-01. **

**...Justice... **

**I swore I'd take you to hell with me... we visitors of the past... don't have a place in this fucking world anymore. It waits for me... Justice waits for me. Because it knows… that this world… it knows that the two of us can't exist here at the same time. This is the last chapter. After destroy you… then the only thing left is That Man…**

**Bastard.**

**I won't rest until I'm dancing on your corpse.  And once he's dealt with... it'll put an end to it all. Then Sol Badguy will join Frederick in hell. But first... Justice must die. As I walk up these carpeted stairs to the above, I feel fire burning in my veins. Our blood calls to the blood of others. And right now... I know Justice is calling me. It won't be long now... Type-01...**

_"Sol!"_ Who the-? 

**********

_It is he. _

_That look of chagrin his face moulds into is the badge of distinction for him. I could never forget that man... no matter how much I would want to. His contemptuous smile... his lazy disposition... his careless nature. It all adds up to the shameless person he is. And to the disappointment of morality, he feels no shame for his temperament. _

Sol Badguy.

_It has been many years since that day.  That day when I first heard his name from Master Kliff. He quite ruefully admitted to the fact that age was a soldier's worst enemy, no matter how powerful his opponent was. I understood this. After all, it was the reason he recommended me as his successor. But he also explained that newer soldiers were necessary for victory. And at the time, I did agree. The Crusades were such a... horrible experience to be exposed to. However, my feelings as a soldier were more important than my regrets as a human being. _

_To destroy life is a sin in itself... but to destroy evil is the duty of a child of God. _

_And so I fought. To purge the world of evil... but also to make it a safer place to exist in. I was born into warfare... I didn't want other children to be denied of their happiness. And so... when Kliff recommended a skilled new soldier, was in no fit position to argue with him. For more reasons than one._

_Had I known the problems that this 'Highly recommended fighter' would cause beforehand, I might just as easily have disputed against Master Kliff's judgement. From the moment he stepped into our headquarters... it became quite obvious that Sol Badguy was problematical. Upon meeting me, he showed absolutely no respect, no sense of decency, and no touch of dignity. I was... exasperated by his behaviour and mannerisms, but I was also the leader of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights. To reach my wits end with a subordinate would reflect badly upon me. And at my young age of sixteen... I had to fight with the vigour of lightning itself to attain any and all forms of respect from the high council. And that of the Union of Nations... the soldiers of the Order... and most of all, the respect of the people that had entrusted me with their lives. _

_Ordinary, peaceful, frightened people._

_ And though it was a struggle, I took Sol's arrogance 'on the chin' as it is said, however much of a difficulty it was for me. There were times when his disrespect infuriated me to no end. He seemed to get his greatest pleasure as a soldier, by outdoing me on the battlefield. I even heard some of the directorial members of the council referring to our affiliation as a 'rivalry'. Though I didn't quite consider it to be as such. _

As time began to pass by, I could hardly contain my feelings of distaste toward Sol. His rash actions (however skilful) had even cost some of the younger knights their lives. Men I had fought with and trained with like brethren. And it incensed me with a passion that only God could possible contemplate. 

_I suppose it was fate, but before our discontent reached its zenith, Sol committed one of his most heinous crimes. He not only deserted the Sacred Order of Holy knights, he stole one of the Order's most priceless treasures. The flaming blade known as Fireseal. _

_The other soldiers were absolutely appalled at this revelation. But no one was as angry or discontented as I was.  There were many ways I could find to describe Sol. Ruffian, brute, coarse, vulgar, loutish. But I never classified him as an absconder. Much less a thief. Yet he has the nerve to brandish that weapon as if it was his own creation. His sins tarnished the Order... and from that day on I made it one of my personal missions in life to cleanse my conscience of this debt. _

_The debt that I owe to you, Sol..._

_My hand clutches tightly to the Thunderseal, and I stare upwards into the eyes of the man that disgraced everything I fought for, the man who had brought shame to the Order._

_The time for you to answer for your sins has come... Sol._

_**********_

**Geez.**

**What the hell is this kid doing here? Ugh... I forgot that this was still a tournament.  And since the rumour spread around about Justice's revival, I guess I should have expected the boy to make his appearance. **

**So he managed to fight his way through the preliminaries, eh? Can't say I didn't expect as much.  The little bastard isn't so much as weak, as he is naïve. And some how... he's always sticking his nose into business that doesn't concern him. **

"This isn't a playground, boy." I say. "And this ain't the place for the likes of you."

**I can see the anger in his eyes. I like that.  Kiske is always trying to keep that little shred of fire bottled up inside. I like seeing that. It's more believable that his usual choir boy routine.  **

**_"You will not run from this!"_**** He yells. _"You must pay for the crimes you've committed!"_**

**Crimes? **

**"...And what would that be, kid?"**

**He tightens his grip around his little sword. _"You deserted the Sacred Order of Holy Knights and stole a priceless artefact from it. I will not allow you to precede any further!"_**

**Jesus, this kid bugs me. Five years and he's still thinking about meaningless shit like that.  He hasn't changed at all. Still the same pompous, delusional kid he was back in 2175.  And he's still covering up his worthless bitching with his 'holy' ways. **

**Wake up, boy...**

**"You gotta a lot of nerve, you know that, kid?" That already pisses him off, but I couldn't much care right now. This ain't the time. " But I don't have time for you."**

**It's a struggle for him, but he still keeps his anger in check.  The noble leader of the former Order doesn't want his god to see him sweat.  But that was always his task. To stand around and look good while his troupe of mindless slaves danced to his beat. Even back then, they all looked up to him. To a sixteen year old kid.  Grown men looking up to a little boy like he was their salvation from the war.  **

**It made me sick. **

They all fell over themselves for Kiske... when Kiske himself was still just a little kid. You could see it in those eyes of his. All that fear, all that pain. And he hides himself in that phoney wall of religion that's come to amuse me.  The first day I met him... I remember his first words to me.

**'_From now on, we are fellow comrades in the army of God. Let us do our best to build the sort of world that He envisioned for us.'_**

**I've never heard so much bull in all my years.  If the almighty Father really gave a damn about his little creation... why the hell is he making you suffer to live in it?  I bet that's one question Ky can't answer. But he hides himself behind that wall... no matter how many Gears he killed, or what praise he got, he's just a little boy hoping for a greater power to make things easier on him. **

**It doesn't work like that.**

**But he'll find that out... eventually. **

**Before long he speaks up again. _"...You are going to find the demon... are you not?" _**

**Hmph.  I can hear that little hint of worry in his voice. Five years of duty on the force must have softened him up a bit. Especially since he was the one who sealed 'the demon' up.  He must feel responsible for Justice... because of that, huh? Another meaningless duty he puts on himself. Not exactly new, either.  But that day, five years ago, was a total bitch to say the least. **

**That damn Justice and its miserable ramblings. I can hear it all in my head. **

'Mankind is blessed with much greater fighting skills than mere Gears.  Or perhaps it was for precisely that reason that they created us. To provide a release for their urge to fight, instead of destroying each other. If that were true, it would be the ultimate irony. Don't you agree...? Corrupted Flame?' 

****

Justice...

**It used to preach a lot of thing I didn't care about... I should have killed it when I had the chance. But I left it to Kiske and his boy scouts. Now look when it's got me.  Well it's the last time I'm gonna make that damn error. Type-01 will die. **

**"Stay out of the way, boy." I can feel myself getting angrier. "Your part in this is over. And it's been over for the past five years. Do yourself a favour... turn back now."**

**********

_Turn back? _

_This man does not know me as well as he thinks he does if he seriously expects me to turn away when so much is at stake. I must confirm the rumours. I must see if they are true with my own eyes. And if Justice truly has been resurrected... then it is my obligation to destroy it. _

_"I will not do that." I comment, letting Thunderseal feel no ease of my grip. "As an officer of the IPF I must investigate the situation. As an ex-soldier... I cannot allow those of Gear lineage to walk the earth undeterred. And as a subject of His will, I will not allow this world to be corrupted by evil."_

_I see Sol scowl that menacing scowl of his, at the simple mention of the Lord. I have never encountered a man so lacking in faith, so disbelieving in the grand design. That lack of morality that Sol possesses... it has allowed him to abscond from the path of righteousness. _

_Though he fights the same enemy as I. And as much as I hate to admit it, it was his influence on that day that helped me defeat Justice. The beast had been weakened significantly. Though master Kliff took his sword to Justice, the fire and heat of the surrounding area... it all indicated to only one person. Sol was the one that gave the Order the leeway we needed to seal up Justice inside that inter-dimensional prison. _

_And it was at that point... I realized that Sol is hiding himself from me. Why do you hide your true strength, Sol? Am I not worthy? I have struggled and obtained power that most fighters would consider to be unrivalled... why does his true strength still allude me? _

_Is it because he thinks of me as a child?_

_I am not a child... I am a former soldier of the Order, a member of the human race and a subject of God... but I am not a child. _

_When I look into his eyes... I see such an unrefined, rough attitude. Such a disregard for the lives of others and those around him. But what I always see, more prominently than the rest, is that look of condescension. His utter most disdain...  his lack of respect for me. He still thinks of me as the sixteen-year-old fledgling knight. Is that why he holds back his true power...? _

_Sol's glare darkens slightly, under the black shadows being cast upon him by the upper rafters of this tower-like building. "Get a clue, boy. You couldn't get the job done then, and you won't be able to now. You'll just end up dying a pathetic death."_

_"I am fully prepared to die for the sake of justice." I say confidently. And I am. "Any blood I shed on the battlefield is worth the sacrifice, as long as one innocent heart is spared the shedding of their tears."  _

_I see Sol chuckle. "You're such a romantic.  I can't stand people who go out of their way and put in so much effort. You've still gotta a lot of growing up to do, kid."_

_Though I hate to petty enough to descend into Sol's mindless verbal abuse, but... "And you have a lot to learn about simple compassion for others... but I cannot expect that from you, Sol. And I will not question the reason why. However I will prevent you from standing in the way of righteousness!"  _

_"To be righteous is to fight a battle you can't win?" Sol questions me arrogantly, assuming a fighting stance. "If you're stupid enough to die for a blind faith then maybe you deserve it." _

_That is it. I will stand for no more of this. _

**********

Stupid boy. 

**I watch the kid ready his sword to attack me; streaks of lightning passing along it as he begins this strive at beating me. ****All his talk of 'righteousness' and 'justice'.  They only serve one man, and that's him.  This kid is so blind. So caught up in the romantic drama of this, that he can't see the obvious.  He's so in love with his god and his beliefs that he ignores the truth. **

**There is no righteousness in this world. **

**Yet he charges his little ass at me, ready to strike, as I bring up Fireseal to strike back. If you weren't so set on blindly throwing away your life, kid, you might realize... **

_'...That you have a future in a world that needs you.'_

Kaiser's Afterthoughts

----------------------------

* Well, geez. I dunno what came over me when I decided to write this. I usually don't write much about Sol and Ky. Dah well, I gave this a go. If you liked what you read, by all means please review. 


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